A young entrepreneur in Rockton, Illinois, is showing others they too can be successful with some hard work.
Twenty-one-year-old Jalen Ponder’s love for business has been a big part of his life since he was 13, the Rockton-Roscoe News reported Saturday, noting his family used to live in Detroit, Michigan.
“I wanted to help my family, financially, but was too young to go out and get a job,” he said.
However, when he noticed a hot dog truck and he offered his help with social media posts, the owner added him to the crew.
When Ponder’s family later moved away, he got a job with another food truck where he helped its workers with promotion. He also became involved with the INCubatoredu Entrepreneurial class at his high school.
The young man later created an Evendtor business plan as a sophomore. He and two other young people eventually won third place in a national competition with the plan that connects businesses with food truck vendors.
According to Ponder’s Facebook page, he is the CEO at Evendtor and Media Director at Hope Fellowship Church of Rockford.
Ponder also studies quantitative economics in college and gives motivational speeches to groups in his area.
Meanwhile, the Evendtor social media page features lots of events with food trucks.
“We have worked with food vendors from all over Rockford, Beloit, Chicago, and Detroit to learn how to make our food truck booking service better, faster, and effective at solving our clients’ needs,” Ponder is quoted as saying on the Evendtor website.
“We help trucks book large deals at companies like Frito Lay, Chrysler plants, and more,” he added.
The smart young man also recently opened a drive-in movie theater in Rockton for neighbors to enjoy.
In the years ahead, Ponder hopes to attend Harvard Business School and create a child development center in Detroit.
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